Google reportedly close to buying facial recognition company Viewdle

For those unfamiliar, Viewdle is a Ukrainian company that makes facial recognition technology that has the ability to automatically tag people in photos. In fact the company has a SocialCamera app that automatically tags Facebook friends, but it looks like Google wants that technology for themselves, presumably for their own social network, Google+ and their other services such as Android and Picasa. According to the reports, it has been suggested that Google is close to completing the acquisition of Viewdle, a deal which has apparently been in the works for more than a year.

In fact according to the person who is reportedly familiar with the deal, talks began with Motorola before the company was acquired by Google, and the person has also estimated that this deal could be priced anywhere between $30-$45 million. We’re not sure what Google plans to do with Viewdle, although the speculation above would make sense – if that’s the case it is unclear if Google will keep the service around for Facebook or make it a Google-exclusive. Either way the deal is expected to be concluded as soon as tomorrow, but we’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled for the official information – if there is any to be had.